An ad agency that has won awards for “social responsibility” partnered with the Australian government to run a film competition showcasing the dangers of "illegal migration", documents obtained byhave revealed.
Since 2019, TBWA has worked with the government on the ‘Zero Chance’ competition which calls on “budding Sri Lankan filmmakers” to submit films showcasing “there is zero chance" of settling in Australia if you travel by boat.
TBWA’ssays the company was Named Adweek's 2018 Global Agency of the Year and has “11,300 creative minds across 270 offices in 95 countries".
The agency belongs to the Omnicom Group, a global American media corporate holding company.
TBWA has won for “social responsibility” and claims its “vision for diversity, equity and inclusion means relentlessly assessing, disrupting and addressing inequities for marginalized communities to achieve equitable and actionable outcomes".
In 2018, TBWA ran a campaign for Amnesty International titledwhere five people were put under hypnosis to experience the journey of a Syrian refugee.
But the agency has also come under fire for its campaigns in previous years.
In 2008, TBWA set up a website called “Pincha la Rueda de Hamilton” (Burst the tyre of Hamilton).
The game to leave objects on a race track to stop Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton from winning the Grand Prix in Brazil.
The site was shut down a month later after it attracted controversy when users left racist comments that targeted Hamilton.
The agency came under scrutiny again in 2009 for a promotional campaign it ran in India.
TBWA worked with Amnesty International on a campaign about refugee rights called 'Through the eyes of a refugee'. Source: Amnesty International/YouTube
Ice cream company Haagen-Dazsin 2009 after it created signage in the brand’s first store in New Delhi that said entry was “restricted only to holders of international passports”.
TBWA’s role in the Zero Chance campaign
Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show email correspondence between unnamed staff at TBWA Sri Lanka and the Department of Home Affairs dating back to 2019-2020.
The emails show discussion over an award ceremony for the first Zero Chance film competition that was scheduled to be held on Wednesday 19 February 2020.
In a Facebook post where he announces the winners of the competition, Major General Craig Furini, Commander of ‘Operation Sovereign Borders’, says the planned award ceremony was cancelled due to the pandemic.
In emails released under the FOI request, Home Affairs said as they would announce the winners via a short video, which is a "much cheaper cost than holding an event", they'd "like to include more paid advertising to heavily promote the competition and encourage a higher rate of submissions".
Home Affairs confirmed in emails released under the FOI request that the 2019 competition had just 17 entries, with the first prize being a film diploma at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute.
Along with requesting TBWA to look after the transliteration of the videos, Home Affairs had asked the agency to book a photographer and videographer for the event, as well as a venue “with seating and staging" and "a mingling area”.
Facebook posts from TBWA Sri Lanka promoting the government's Zero Chance campaign. Source: TBWA Sri Lanka/Facebook
Home Affairs also discussed contracting TBWA to translate press releases sent to local media, organise prizes for the competition, such as a film diploma to a Sri Lankan institute, and develop plaques and certificates for the winners.
They also asked TBWA to courier award certificates to Australia from Sri Lanka to be physically signed by a person whose name is omitted in the document.
The FOI documents reveal 40 local media representatives were invited to attend the ceremony, with the Home Affairs representative discussing “media sensitivities or preferred media representatives” regarding the invite list.
At one point, Home Affairs said they would like to “go ahead with the Sri Lankan flower welcome and lighting of the oil lamp” for the ceremony. They also discussed how participants could have “networking over snacks” at the event.
The correspondence also mentions TBWA running the Zero Chance Facebook page and planning the 2021 film competition organised by the ad agency. The company did not answer questions from SBS News about whether they ran the 2022 film competition.
Another screenshot of a video from the ad agency's Facebook page showcasing the "perils" of arriving in Australia by boat. Source: TBWA Sri Lanka/Facebook
Home Affairs asked the agency for quotes “for the production of the announcement film, radio advertising and paid promotion” before it could make any payment.
TBWA suggests two judges it describes as “popular local filmmakers”, while Home Affairs invited two Australian Government officials to participate in the judging.
The names of the Australian Government officials are censored in the FOI report.
A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs previously confirmed to SBS News the Zero Chance campaign launched in June 2019.
The costs of the contract are omitted from the Freedom of Information request.
When asked how much money the government has spent on the campaign and film competition, a spokesperson for the Australian Border Force (ABF), said “specific costings or details about the campaign are commercial in confidence.”
Figures from the Department published on the Department of Finance website showed Home Affairs spent $800,000 overall on an anti-people smuggling (offshore) campaign in the 2019-20 financial year.
A contract seen by SBS News on AusTender shows the government has spent more than $4.1 million on "Illegal Maritime Arrival Education Services" between 2011 and June 2021.
The ABF spokesperson said the campaign seeks to “raise awareness of Australia’s strong border protection policies” and “alert” people about the “dangers of attempting sea journeys”.
They also said the film competition’s motive is to alert immigrants to “the criminal disregard people smugglers have [for] their welfare.”
“The Australian Government continues to implement a dynamic targeted messaging campaign through a range of advertising and community engagement channels offshore to deter illegal maritime travel to Australia,” the spokesperson said.
“The campaign’s message is simple – there is zero chance of illegal migration to Australia.”
Some of the new "Zero Chance" policy material released by the Australian government. Source: Australian Government
Calls for TBWA to cut ties with the Zero Chance campaign
Aran Mylvaganam, founder of the Tamil Refugee Council, said it was “sickening” for the Australian government to run this campaign “when the human rights situation in Sri Lanka has deteriorated.”
Mr Mylvaganam called upon TBWA to pull out of the Zero Chance campaign.
“It's quite surprising that an agency that has been used by some of the human rights groups, the same group is now profiting from a government program that is intended to stop people fleeing genocidal regimes,” he said.
“Working with government on this is basically supporting them stopping Tamils and other groups of people from Sri Lanka fleeing violence.
“My understanding is that this ad agency has a contract till the end of next year. They should distance themselves from the government. They should know better.”
Sarah Dale, principal solicitor at the Refugee Advice and Casework Service, said she found it upsetting that TBWA had partnered with the government on the Zero Chance campaign.
“It's not enough to stand in solidarity and defend some rights without extending that to all and to be seen to be involved in a campaign which marginalises, dehumanises and degrades people seeking asylum,” she said.
“I would ask all companies to really think about their engagement on issues such as people seeking asylum, and really think about what side of history you want to be on.”
Ms Dale said it was shocking that the government had been planning to fund an awards ceremony - that was later cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.
“I find it incredibly disheartening that there would be funding available for an awards ceremony… on a political campaign trying to stop people seeking asylum in Australia when they have every legal right to,” she said.
“The justification that this campaign will help stop boats or to save lives when we haven't had boats arrive since 2014 is really quite perplexing.”
SBS News contacted TBWA but they declined to comment.
